The present invention relates to a separating apparatus for separating a portion surrounded by intermittent cuts from a punched sheet, which was processed to have the intermittent cuts for example by a label punching machine such as a platen punching machine.
For example, labels are obtained by punching a label original sheet with intermittent prints applied on the surface thereof. The label original sheet with intermittent prints on the surface thereof is placed between a cutter plate and a support plate in a puncher. Then the cutter plate is urged against the support plate to form intermittent cuts surrounding each label portion in the label original sheet with intermittent prints on the surface thereof. The label original sheet with intermittent cuts surrounding each label portion is taken out of the puncher. A plurality of label original sheets are stacked on each other. Then the stacked label original sheets are pressed at the label portions by a manual operation using a hammer or the like or by a pushing machine provided with push plates corresponding to the label portions, whereby the label portions are separated from the label original sheets.
The separation of press-off label portions in the label original sheet therefrom requires means for taking out of the label puncher the label original sheets after being cut by the label puncher and then stacking the label original sheets on each other, and means for manually or mechanically pressing the press-off label portions in the stacked label original sheets. In other words, there are two independent steps necessary for separating the press-off label portions from the label original sheets, that is, a step of taking out the label original sheets of the puncher and stacking them on each other and a step of separating the label portions from the stacked label original sheets.
There are disadvantages in such an arrangement that the press-off label portions in the label original sheets are separated from the label original sheets by the two steps. If the label original sheets include label portions to be separated therefrom of the same size, shape and location, the two steps can be continuously carried out by locating the pushing machine with push plates corresponding to the label portions, next to the label original sheets stacked in a multiplicity of layers. If there are various kinds of label portions with different sizes, shapes and locations to be pressed off from a small number of label original sheets, the label original sheets must be stacked according to the size, shape and location of the press-off label portions and push plates of different types corresponding to the sizes, shapes and locations of the label portions in the stacked label original sheets must be exchanged therebetween depending upon the stacked label original sheets, which does not allow continuous execution of the two steps.
Applicant developed a separating apparatus for punched sheet disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,108 in which a press roller is disposed above a feed roller for feeding a punched sheet, as being freely contactable with or separatable from the feed roller, the punched sheet being fed between the press roller and the feed roller and pinched thereby, and the press roller is moved along a circumferential surface of the feed roller to separate portions surrounded by cuts from the punched sheet.
The separating apparatus for punched sheet can automatically and positively separate the press-off portions from the punched sheet taken out of the puncher regardless of the size and the location of press-off portions in the punched sheet. However, the press roller is not in a rotating motion but in a reciprocating motion relative to the feed roller, and the apparatus needs a device for urging the press roller against the feed roller. Since the apparatus requires a plurality of steps for separating the press-off portions from the punched sheet, there is a limit in the speed of separating the press-off portions from the punched sheet.
Further, the separating apparatus of the above type for punched sheet has the following drawback. If the width of a scrap portion located outside the press-off portions in the punched sheet, that is, a frame portion of the punched sheet (scrap portion left after separation of press-off portions from the punched sheet) is wide, the frame portion of the punched sheet lacks flexibility, which would cause the frame portion of the punched sheet not to move along the feed roller upon separation of punched sheet. This could cause skidding of the feed roller, so that the rear end of the scrap portion in the feed direction could sometimes fail to be fed between the feed roller and the press roller.